Can business learn something from colleges about creating demand?

I recently sent my first child in college. The process of selecting colleges to apply to, applying and enrolling has made me focus on the remarkable pricing power colleges have. How many businesses can raise their price and see demand increase? (The NY Times ran a piece in the Spring of 2007 about a college whose annual tuition room and board was approximately $35,000 when the "norm" for private colleges was more in the range of $40,000 - $45,000. The college decided to raise its fees and saw an increase in the number of applicants).

The lesson? For businesses serving consumers the lesson I've determined must be: provide a product or service that makes you think you or your child will be improved in some way (make you think you look better, feel better or are more appealing to a prospective employer)

The benefit can't be percieved as "internal". Those benefits aren't percieved as being as valuable as benefits someone else can see. Adult education schools like those conducted by communities are described as self improvement or for fun. The prices they can charge are significantly less than the prices colleges charge for courses that lead to degrees.